The occurrence of foot and heel pain is an especially uncomfortable and often debilitating condition which significantly limits activity. It is frequently associated with jogging, tennis, volleyball or other activities which require repeated impact of the tissues on the bottom of the foot and particularly in the heel region. In the anatomy of the human foot, the plantar fascia is the connective tissue on the bottom of the foot which is attached at the front to the metatarsal phalangeal joints, i.e., the metatarsal or toe joints, and at the rear to the calcaneus or heel bone. The plantar fascia acts like a pad to absorb the shock of the forces developed during the strenuous activities mentioned and, during all walking or running activities the plantar fascia stretches and contracts and is subject to impact forces. Continuous stress of the plantar fascia can cause loss of the natural elasticity or padding function of the tissue. This resulting loss of elasticity can produce physical symptoms that include tenderness, swelling, and pain. In some instances bone spurs can develop causing even more pain. To relieve the pain and promote healing, usually requires rest and removal of the cause of the condition which, obviously, is the walking or running.
To treat the condition without surgery it has been a practice to tape a strap to the bottom of the foot to produce an external pull on the plantar fascia and keep the tissue compressed and immobilized, to administer anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce swelling, and to perform stretching exercises for the planar fascia. Often, this treatment is successful but the tape strapping method, to be effective, requires application by trained medical personnel and as the tape loses its adhesion re-taping is required. Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a method and a brace which can be adjusted readily by the patient.
One elastic brace or foot wrap for treating heel pain is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,107 to Shannahan granted Sep. 10, 1996. This foot wrap comprising an elastic tubular body having an ankle opening, a plurality of toe openings, an arch support, wherein the tubular body exerts a predetermined compressive force to support the arch of the foot. The compressive force is exerted by the wrap along the bottom of the foot from the heel to the toes while additionally providing support for the arch of the foot by means of the arch support. The arch support is drawn around and over the lateral and medial sides of the foot and attached to the top of the tubular body by means of Velcro patches. Among the drawbacks to this foot wrap and method are that it requires enclosing a major portion of the foot inside the foot wrap requiring multiple fittings and adjustments to be properly installed. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a wrap or brace which does not need to enclose a large portion of the foot and has a single simple adjustment means.
Another brace is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,413 to Olson granted Apr. 15, 1997 wherein a combination of an ankle brace and wrap is described which is a compressive support sleeve adapted to fit over the foot of a user. A non-elastic strap is secured to a pressure support sleeve and wraps around the plantar fascia of the foot and back around the ankle forming a figure-eight configuration. Two pressure release pads are disposed on a compression support sleeve parallel to each other forming a channel along the Achilles tendon of the patient to provide a redistribution of the forces from the wrap and the Achilles tendon. While this ankle brace adds support to the ankle and to the arch it does not effectively correct any misalignment between the talus and calcaneus which is often the primary source of heel pain. Accordingly, it is still another object of the present invention to correct the alignment between the calcaneus and the ankle joint.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,779 to Gleason granted Feb. 2, 1999 an enveloping elastic sock for treating plantar faciitis is described wherein the sock has a heel opening and exerts compressive force along the longitudinal and transverse axes of a patient's foot. However, the elastic sock described in this patent requires the involvement of the toes with a brace in the back of the heel which is unnecessarily complex and is not directly involved with realigning the calcaneus and ankle joint.
In a prior art strapping method described by Brian Mulligan at page 118 and 119 in his book in an article entitled Manual Therapy 3.sup.rd Edition, Planeview Service, Ltd. Wellington, New Zealand, 1995 describes a method of taping using adhesive to alter the position of the calcaneum in relation to the talus. This is achieved by taping the calcaneum in external rotation. Two strips (approximately two centimeters wide) are used. A first tape is placed obliquely around the back of the heel, and while the calcaneum is forcibly externally rotated and then the tape is wrapped up around the lower leg to maintain the position. The second tape is applied over the first to make the rotation even more effective. When the patients stand they initially have difficulty walking because of the re-positioning but no pain is supposed to be felt. The tape is left for forty-eight hours and the results noted. This part of the treatment for heel pain and may have to be used for a week or two with re-taping. Accordingly, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of re-positioning the calcaneus but does not require extensive taping and re-taping of the ankle and foot area and eliminates the discomfort of irritations that may be caused by prolonged adhesive tape contact with the skin.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the present invention described below and shown in the attached drawings.